Steyr AUG

Overview:

The AUG is an Austrian bullpup 5.56mm assault rifle, designed in the early 1970s by Steyr Mannlicher GmbH & Co KG (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch). The AUG (Armee Universal Gewehr—"universal army rifle") was adopted by the Austrian Army as the StG 77 (Sturmgewehr 77) in 1977, where it replaced the 7.62 mm StG 58 automatic rifle (a license-built FN FAL). In production since 1978, it is the standard small arm of the Austrian Bundesheer and various national police units. The rifle has also been adopted by the armed forces of Argentina, Australia (accepted into service in 1985 and manufactured by Australian Defence Industries in Lithgow, this Austeyr model is also in use by New Zealand), Bolivia, Ecuador (since 1988), Ireland, Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia (introduced in 1978), Pakistan and since 1988— U.S. Customs (now the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency). The AUG was designed as a family of rifles that could be quickly adapted to a wide variety of roles with the change of the barrel to a desired length and profile, among which are: a compact 350 mm (13.8 in) barrel, 407 mm (16.0 in) carbine barrel, 508 mm (20.0 in) standard rifle-length barrel and a 621 mm (24.4 in) light machine gun barrel. The AUG is a modular, bullpup configuration rifle that employs a high level of synthetic and advanced alloy components. The primary variant of the rifle, designated the AUG A1, consists of six main assemblies: the barrel, receiver with integrated telescopic sight, bolt and carrier, trigger mechanism, stock and magazine. The AUG is a selective fire weapon with a conventional gas piston operated action that fires from a closed bolt. The gas cylinder is offset to the right side of the barrel and works with one of the two guide rods. Rifles equipped with 407 mm (16.0 in) and 508 mm (20.0 in) barrels are able to launch rifle grenades. 508 mm (20.0 in) pattern barrels produced for military purposes are also equipped with a bayonet lug. The manufacturer offers two other 508 mm (20.0 in) barrel configurations: the first – fitted with a fixed, post foresight (used on the standard rifle version with aperture iron sights) and the second type – equipped with a 40 mm M203 grenade launcher that can be used mounted on the standard length rifle or autonomously – as a stand-alone grenade launcher after attaching a shoulder pad to the end of the 5.56 mm barrel. The receiver housing is a steel-reinforced aluminum extrusion finished with a baked enamel coating. It holds the steel bearings for the barrel lugs and the guide rods. The non-reciprocating plastic cocking handle works in a slot on the left side of the receiver and is connected with the bolt carrier's left guide rod. The cocking handle has a forward assist feature – alternatively called a "silent cocking device" – used for pushing the bolt shut without recocking the rifle. A bolt hold-open device locks the bolt carrier assembly back after the last round has been fired. The AUG lacks a bolt release button, and the cocking handle must be retracted to release the bolt group after a new magazine has been inserted. Integrated with the receiver casting is a fixed carry handle that contains a 1.5x telescopic sight made by Swarovski Optik. It contains a simple black ring reticle with a basic rangefinder that is designed so that at 300 m (984.3 ft) a 180 cm (5 ft 10.9 in) tall man-size target will completely fill ( subtend ) it, giving the shooter a relatively accurate method of estimating range. The sight cannot be set to a specific range but can be adjusted for windage and elevation for an initial zero and is designed to be calibrated for 300 m. When so set, aiming at the centre of a target will produce a hit at all ranges out to 300m. The rifle also has a back-up iron sight with a rear notch and front blade, cast into the top of the aluminum optical sight housing, used in case of failure or damage to the primary optical sight. The sight is also equipped with a set of three illuminated dots (one on the front blade and two at the rear) for use in low-level lighting conditions. In order to mount a wide range of optics and accessories, a receiver with a NATO-standard Picatinny rail and detachable carry handle was also developed and introduced in 1997.

Specifications:

Type

• Assault rifle.

Place of Origin

• Austria.

Weight

• 3.6 kg (7.9 lb) (standard rifle).
• 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) (carbine).
• 3.2 kg (7.1 lb) (subcarbine).
• 3.9 kg (8.6 lb) (LMG).
• 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) (SMG).

Length

• 790 mm (31.1 in) (standard rifle).
• 690 mm (27.2 in) (carbine).
• 630 mm (24.8 in) (subcarbine).
• 900 mm (35.4 in) (LMG).
• 665 mm (26.2 in) (SMG).

Barrel Length

• 508 mm (20.0 in) (standard rifle).
• 407 mm (16.0 in) (carbine).
• 350 mm (13.8 in) (subcarbine).
• 621 mm (24.4 in) (LMG).
• 420 mm (16.5 in) (SMG).

Cartridge

• 5.56x45mm NATO.
• 9x19mm Parabellum (SMG).

Action

• Gas-operated.
• Rotating bolt.

Rate of Fire

• 680–750 rounds/min.

Muzzle Velocity

• 940 m/s (3,084 ft/s) (standard rifle).

Effective Range

• Sighted for 300 m.

Feed System

• 30 or 42-round box magazine (5.56 mm).
• 25 or 32-round MPi 69's box magazine (9 mm).

Sights

• Swarovski 1.5x telescopic sight.
• Back-up iron sights.